PITTSBURGH — They may be near the bottom of the standings, but they’re still on the circuit.

That was the message that Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley delivered to his downtrodden troops prior to Friday’s practice in Pittsburgh.

“We’re in the National Hockey League. We’ve worked hard to get here,” Hartley reminded. “And I told them this morning, ‘Don’t take this for granted. It can disappear real quickly. Real quickly. It’s a privilege to play in the NHL.’ ”

Privilege? Sure.

For the past couple of weeks, though, it’s hardly been a pleasure for the Flames.

Heading into Saturday’s clash with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center, the crew from Calgary has suffered seven straight setbacks, posted a 1-9-1 mark in their past 11 games and dropped to 29th in the overall standings.

In three stops so far on this rotten road-trip, they’ve had the lead for a grand total of 13:27. Never near the final buzzer.

With 18 dates remaining on their regular-season slate, the Flames are nothing more than spoilers.

Their fairy tale playoff push from one year ago? Feels like ancient history.

Suddenly, it’s starting to look — and sound — more like March 2014, when Hartley vowed to squeeze as many victories as possible out of his squad, even as a bunch of newbies arrived from the American Hockey League or the college ranks.

For what it’s worth, the Flames were 10-8-0 in their final 18 games that season en route to 27th-place positioning in the final standings.

“Remember the way that we finished two years ago — we had a pretty good finish, a very good finish,” Hartley said after Friday’s practice. “And that’s part of our culture. The game on the ice is one thing, but as an organization, we want a culture. We want an identity that you don’t choose when you work. You’re going to work every day.

“And I think that we’ve accomplished this. Right now, obviously, we’re missing quite a few guys, but at the same time, it opens the door for some newcomers to come in to prove themselves. That’s facts, those are no excuses. We’re not going to use this as, ‘You know, we have a bunch of kids, and that’s why we’re losing.’ No. We have to find a way to win games.”

HATHAWAY SCORES SOUVENIRS, SUPPORT

John and Suellen Hathaway need to clear a spot on the mantle for a couple of special souvenirs.

Their 24-year-old son, Garnet, notched his first NHL point — an assist — in Thursday’s 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, but the lucky puck isn’t the only memento that the Flames’ forward call-up has stashed from this unforgettable week.

“The stick I used in my first game, too, I gave that to my mom to bring back home,” Hathaway said. “I’m sure when I get (the puck) framed up, that’ll go home, too.”

After Saturday’s afternoon affair in Pittsburgh, Hathaway will — for the first time since training camp last fall — return to his new hockey home in Calgary.

In just three appearances so far for the Flames, all on the road, the relentless right-winger has quickly emerged as a fan favourite.

Hathaway has a pair of assists already, has racked up 11 hits on this frustrating road-trip and showed some spunk when he ticked off Bruins behemoth Zdeno Chara on his first shift in Boston.

“I want to create energy on the ice and off the ice, too,” Hathaway said of the positive fan reaction to his first few games. “I’m glad people are noticing, and I hope it keeps going.”

You can bet his buddies back in Stockton, Calif., are noticing.

Hathaway was the first post-deadline call-up from the Flames’ farm club. He won’t be the last.

“There’s a lot of good players down there that will play in the NHL soon, I think,” Hathaway said. “And when they get called up, I hope they have as successful a start as I have. I know they will.”

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